How To Become A Labour Relations Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a labour relations specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

With a mix of labor relations and HR, this position is exciting to work in. For effective compromises, a labor relations specialist serves as a liaison between the executive management team and the employees. They negotiate labor with management leaders, employees, and other collective bargaining parties by analyzing and drafting counterproposals and contract proposals. A bachelor's degree in law, human resources management, or business is often enough to get the position of a labor relations specialist. In rare cases, you can even get this role with a high school diploma.

A labor relations specialist usually has knowledge of HR, collective bargaining agreements, labor relations, and ensure compliance, or EEO. A professional working in this role can make around $33 in an hour and earn a little less than $70,000 per year. Job opportunities for labor relations specialists are gradually reducing in the US. Other skills that can be helpful for this role are writing and listening skills, along with being observant.

ScoreLabour Relations SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,007

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.86%

Asian 7.61%

Black or African American 10.43%

Hispanic or Latino 16.74%

Unknown 5.68%

White 58.69%

Gender

female 43.97%

male 56.03%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a labour relations specialist

Explore labour relations specialist education requirements

Most common labour relations specialist degrees

Bachelor's

57.6 %

Associate

12.9 %

Master's

11.6 %

Start to develop specific labour relations specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
HR	14.15%
Collective Bargaining Agreements	10.37%
Collective Bargaining	6.75%
Arbitration	6.40%
EEO	5.18%

Complete relevant labour relations specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New labour relations specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a labour relations specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real labour relations specialist resumes.

Research labour relations specialist duties and responsibilities

Create, manage, and disseminate university communications via alumni relations department website and email system.
Manage alumni programs and data systems including implementing new data tracking system and creating data privacy policy.
Handle grievance investigations, contract interpretation, disciplinary matters, and implementation of arbitration awards for consistency company-wide.
Assist leaders to be compliant with FLSA, ODRISA, etc.

Prepare your labour relations specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your labour relations specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a labour relations specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable labour relations specialist resume templates

Build a professional labour relations specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your labour relations specialist resume.